US people smuggler found guilty
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/6207900.stm Version 0 of 1. A US lorry driver has been convicted over a failed attempt to smuggle dozens of people illegally into the US. Nineteen of more than 70 immigrants crammed into the back of Tyrone Williams' lorry died during a journey towards Houston in May 2003. Williams, who could face the death penalty, was convicted on 58 counts of conspiracy and illegal transportation. He was found guilty on 38 counts last year, but had his sentence overturned on appeal, leading to a retrial. Of the 58 counts against him in the current trial, 20 carry a possible death penalty. At his previous trial, Williams, 35, was convicted of all counts of illegally transporting people, but the jury could not agree on his role on the 20 charges eligible for the death penalty. Grim conditions Prosecutor Daniel Rodriguez described Williams, a legal Jamaican immigrant, as a "vile and heartless truck driver who has no regard for human life". More than 70 and possibly as many as 100 people were packed into the refrigerated trailer in the town of Harlingen, Texas. But there was no evidence that the trailer's refrigeration systems were ever used, and conditions inside quickly became unbearable. Humidity in the trailer soared and people tried to rip away pieces of the vehicle in an attempt to get some air. Seventeen of the Mexican and Central American illegal immigrants packed inside the lorry were found dead when Williams abandoned them in the town of Victoria, Texas, in May 2003. Two more died in hospital after being discovered. Among the victims was a five-year-old Mexican boy. Defence lawyers argued that Williams did not know how many people were inside the lorry trailer until he stopped in Victoria. He and many of the survivors fled the scene. Williams was one of 14 people charged in connection with the smuggling, but the only one to face the possibility of the death penalty. His sentence will be decided by the same jury that convicted him. |